Grain-thresher.



No. 719,482. PATBNTED FEB. 3, 1903. W MALONEY GRAIN THRESHER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2a, 1899.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l illllill I0 MODEL.

@AHorneys.

Np. 719,482. PATENTED FEB. 3, 1903.

W. MALONBY..

GRAIN THRESHER.

APPLICATION I'ILED APR. 28, .1889. I0 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

iinesses- V v l f gfor, I o I u No. 719,482. PATENTED FEB. 3,1903.

WLMALONEYL GRAIN THRESHER.

AEPLIOATIOR FILED APR. 28, 1899- 30 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

--nlnM-lllllllll ll I 'I BY-MM UNiTED STATES YVILLIAM MALONEY, OFSHERBROOKE, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF PATENT OFFICE.

TO MAXWELL S. INGLIS AND ISAAC PITBLADO AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS TRUSTEES,OF WINNIPEG, CANADA.

GRAIN-THRESHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,48 dated February1903- Applioation filed April 28, 1899.

such as will enable others skilled in the art' to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in grain-threshers.

The object of my invention is to provide a construction of thischaracter by means of which the grain can be threshed While standing inthe field, the cereals being removed and the straw left standing.

A further object is to provide a construction by means of which thegrain is bagged as it is threshed.

A further object is to provide a construc: tion in which the threshingmechanism is divided, receiving its powerfrom different parts of themachine,enabling the harvester to have its course varied without varyingthe operative usefulness of the threshing mechanism, the speed of thethreshing mechanism being accommodated to the movement of the harvesterover the field.

A further object is to provide mechanism for adjustably regulating theheight of the threshing mechanism to enable the threshing of the grain,the stalks of which are of various heights.

A further object is to provide a construction in which the grain isthreshed by the forcing of the grain from its shell with but slightdestroying of the shell and its removal from the straw.

A further object is to provide a construction in which the grain isthreshed without removing the heads from the straw.

A further object is to provide a construction by means of which themachine is supported and guided by means of two guidingwheels mounted atthe rear of the frame, said wheels acting in unison, said guidingmechanism also having its draft-poles located on Serial No. 714,901. (Nomodel.)

the outer side of the draft-animals, forming an inclosed portion withinwhich the animals are moving.

A further object is to provide a construction by means of which thegrain will be threshed in an economical manner, which is light inweight, durable in construction, and simple and effective in operation.

To these and other ends my invention consists in the improvedconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, andparticularly pointed ont'in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which similar numerals of referenceindicate similarparts in all of the figures, Figure 1 isaplan view of myimprovedthresher. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a front elevation. Fig.4isavertical crosssectional view taken centrally of the machine on theline 440E Fig. 1 looking toward the front. Fig. 5 is an enlargedvertical longitudinal section of the frame and threshing mechanism. Fig.6 is a detail of the axle and its support. Fig. 7 is a detail of theconveyor. Fig. 8 is a detail showing the construction of the concave.Fig. 9 is a detail of a portion of the threshing-cylinder. Fig. 10 is adetail sectional View on the line 10 10 of Fig. 1. Fig. 11 is a detailperspective of some of the parts shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a detailof the means carried by the axle for regulating the angularity of the'lover.

The harvesting of grain as now practiced is performed in various ways.These methods vary, consisting in cutting 0d the grain and binding it,after which it is threshed, in cutting off the heads of the grain,sacking the heads,and afterward threshing them, and the attempt has alsobeen made to thresh the grain without removing the heads. To the latterclass the present invention belongs, and its advantages will behereinafter set forth. In constructions of this classthe attempt hasbeen made to subject the grain to the action of a toothed cylinder; butin so doing the loss of grain is considerable by rea-.. son of itsflying from the head in every direction, being diflicult to control.Another disadvantage lies in the fact that the heads are so mashed andmangled as to cause a great amount of chaff and portions of the head tobe passed into the receiving-hopper with the grain. A furtherdisadvantage lies in the fact that to give the cylinder its requiredspeed it must be geared up to such an extent as to make necessary agreat amount of power, making the first cost of the machine exceedinglygreat, as is also the cost of operating it.

In the present construction the threshing is accomplished by subjectingthe head to sufficient pressure to cause it'to be flattened, thepressure being sufficient to break the shell or pod of the grain andpress it out of its shell, the grain not being mashed, but kept in itsnatural condition, the threshed heads being withdrawn with the stalk.

In the construction now to be described I have shown one method ofcarrying my invention into effect; but I desire it to be understood thatI reserve the right to make such necessary modification and changes asmay fall within the invention herein described,

such changes falling within the spirit and scope of the invention asdescribed in the appended claims.

1 designates the drive-wheels of my device, mounted at opposite ends ofthe axle 2, as best shown in Fig. 1. The axle 2 is provided on oppositesides, at "a point a slight distance inside the wheels 1, with aslide-block 3, as best shown in Fig. 6, said slide-block serving toprevent the turning of the axle in addition to the adjustment now to bedescribed.

4 designates a pair of vertically-extending guides, having their upperand lower ends bent laterally, as at 5, said guides being secured to theframe 6, hereinafter described. One of the slide-blocks 3 is mountedwithin each pair of guides, being secured therein by means of bolts 7,extending through vertical slots 8, formed in the guides, and throughthe slide-block, suitable plates 9, mounted on the bolts 7, serving'tohold the guides fixedly in their adjusted positions. To raise the guides4 and frame 6, with its contents, enabling their adjustment to a properheight, I provide a clip 10, secured to the axle, on which is pivotallymounted a suitable lever 11, having a hook 12, adapted to receive one ofthe links of a chain 13, having its lower'end connected to the lower endof the guide 4. It will be readily seen that if the bolts 7 are loosenedand the lever 11 depressed the guides 4 will be moved upwardly, causingthe frame 6 to be raised. When the desired point has been reached, thebolts are tightened, holding the frame fixedly in its adj ustedposition. It is to be understood that the lever 11 and its connectionsare duplicated on opposite sides of the machine.-

The frame 6 is skeleton in its formation, comprising the plates 14,connected to the upper ends of the guides 4 and extending forwardly andrearwardly therefrom, the rear ends being connected by the plate 15, theforward ends of the plates 14 being bent at an angle downwardly andextending to the front portion of the machine.

16 is a brace extending in an inclined direction downwardly andforwardly from the plate and thence forwardly, as at 17. The front endof the portion 17 is bent upwardly, as at 18, and is secured to the bar24, the junction forming the support for the vertically-extendingbearings 19. Suitable supporting-braces 20 extend from the plate 15 tothe forwardly-extending portion 17. A brace 21 also extends forwardlyfrom the top of the slide 4 and is connected to the top of the bearings19, as shown. 'A platform 22 is mounted on the portions 17, extendingfrom side to side of the machine, and to this platform, centrallythereof, is connected a forwardly-extending brace 23, similar inconfiguration to the forwardly-extending portions of the plate 15, saidbrace having its front end connected to a bar 24, extending across thefront end of the machine, the connection being central of the bar. Theends of the bar are connected to the support for the bearings 19, andsaid bar is also adapted to receive a central bearing 25, similar to thebearings 19.

The front face of the bar 24 is provided with a series offorwardly-extending teeth 26,whichare adapted to guide the heads of thegrain backward onto and into the path of movement of thethreshing-cylinders, hereinafter described, said teeth being adapted tostraighten out any tangled portion of the grain that may be encounteredduring the movement of the machine.

Revolubly mounted in the bearing 19 and bearin g 25 are shafts 27, onwhich are secured suitable wheels 28, having their periphery providedwith suitable radiallyextending lugs 29, to the outer face of which aresecured suitable threshing-bars 30, formed substantially as shown inFig. 9, the bar in that figure being shown in cross-section. As shown insaid figure, the face of each bar is formed with a plain surface and acorrugated surface, the latter being located in rear of'the former, thecorrugations extending longitudinally of the bar. In cross-section thebar increases in thickness from its front to its rear, the plain surfacehaving the greater portion of this increase. This particularform of baris ofimportance in that it causes a grad ually-increasing pressure to beput on the grain-heads, the plain surface breaking the pods, while thecorrugated surface separates the kernel from the pod. To provide thesurface corrugated for its entire width would have a bad eifect on thethreshing, as there would be an intermittent increase of pressure on thegrain-pod'instead of a steady pressure, which ensues by the use of theplain surface at the commencement of the threshing movement. .Thiswillbe clear when it is considered that the steady pressure increasingwill irresistibly push the kernel rearward, aiding in the breakingof-the pod, but without tending to destroy the kernel, while acorrugatedsurface would tend to attempt to violently force the kernel from the podby successive beating with increased pressure, which would tend to mashthe kernel instead of threshing it in a neat manner. As will be seen byreferring to the drawings, the threshing-bars 30 extend laterally acrossthe machine, being formed in two divisions, one on each side of alongitudinal center of the machine, said bars extending in a straightline across the wheels 28, thus causing the grain to be brought intocontact with the concave plate 31, hereinafter described, at the samemoment, each bar being adapted to thresh one row of the heads of thegrain. While it is possible to operate the machine so that one row ofheads will be acted upon by but one of the threshing-bars, yet it ispossible that the machine in operation will have almost an entirerevolution on one row of heads, it depending entirely on the rate ofspeed at which the shafts 27 are driven relative to the speed of thedrive-wheels.

The shafts 27 are driven by means of a sprocket-wheel 32, mounted on theend of each shaft, this sprocket-Wheel'being operatively connected to asimilar wheel 33, mounted on the drive-wheel, the connection being bymeans of a suitable sprocket-chain 34. It will be readily seen that thespeed of the shaft 27 may be regulated by changing the sprocket-wheelmounted thereon. As each shaft 27 is mounted on opposite sides of thecenter and each has its own driving power, it will be readily seen thatin making turns each threshing-cylinder will be driven at a speedcorresponding to the speed of the drive-wheel 1, so that there will notbe any liability of a number of ro ws of heads being passed by withoutbeing threshed.

The position of the concave plate 31 is substantially as shown in Fig.5, the forward end of said plate extending a small distance in front ofthe vertical center of the threshingcylinder, said concave plateextending rearwardly with approximately the same curvature as the planeof the path of movement of the threshing-cylinder, the rear end of saidconcave plate being slightly closer to said path of movement in orderthat 'a slight tightening may take place between the threshing-bars andthe concave plate during the operation of threshing' The rear end of theconcave is supported by means of suitable springs 35, said springs beingconnected to the frame and extending upwardly against the rear end ofthe concave, said springs being capable of adjustment to enable theconcave plate to be adjusted toward or from the path of movement of thethreshing-bars. By

mounting the rear end of the concave in this manner any liability of theconcave being broken by the entrance of any large substance, such asweeds, &c., is avoided, as it would allow the concave to spring awayfrom the path of movement of said bars, and when said weeds are carriedbeyond the concave the springs would tend to throw the concave back toits normal position. The surface of the concave is formed exactly asshown in Fig. 8, having a series of openings 36, each of which has itsupper end enlarged, as at 37, the entire concave plate having theappearance of a perforated plate, the perforations being enlarged on theupper face. The openings 36 are arranged close together, so that theenlarged portion 37 will form sharp edges between each two openings,forming practically what might be termed a corrugation.

The object of the corrugated form of the concave plate can best bedemonstrated by describing the portion of the machine by whichespecially this process is effected.

As the machine moves forward the shafts 27 are rotated rapidly, thusimpartinga movement to the threshing-bars 30. The height of the teeth 26having been regulated, as hereinafter set forth, so that about sixinches of the tops of the stalks, comprising practically the heads,extend above the teeth, the moving threshing-bar comes in contacttherewith and carries the row of heads backward onto the concave plate.The threshing-bar 30, as shown in Fig. 9, has its front face rounded, asshown, and has the rearportion of its face corrugated. As the row ofheads is drawn onto the concave the rounded portion of the threshing-barpresses the heads downward onto the bar and flattens it, so thatpractically there is but a single layer of the heads. This movementforces the grain in the pods or shells into the corrugations formed onthe concave plate, the sharp edges of which tend to break the pod orshell, thus releasing the grain therefrom. The grain upon being releasedfrom the pod passes downward through the openings 36 into a receptacle38, located thereunder, the corrugated portion of the bars being adaptedto break open the shells or pods which were not broken by the roundedportion of the bars. It will be readily seen that the movement of thethreshing-bar, together with its form of face, does not break off theheads of the grain, the first movement of the bar tending to flatten itand hold it in. position, as well as to break open the pod and allow thegrain to escape through the openingsinto its receptacle. After the grainhas been removed the beads are drawn forwardly and pass out in thedirection in which they came in, this movement beingaccomplished beforethe next row of heads is broughtinto operative position on the concave.

A plate 39 is connected at the rear of concave plate 31 to the spring 35and extends rearwardly and upwardly, as shown in Fig, 5, this platebeing adapted to receive any grain which may be thrown rearward by thethreshing operation, such grain beingal-v lowed to drop downward onsaidplate and through an opening formed between the con- ICO struction, notforming a particular part of the present invention, and carried upwardtherein and deposited within a receptacle 41, mounted on the elevator,said receptacle having openings 42 for the passing of the grain intosuitable bags secured thereunder, said bags being held in position bymeans of suitable spring-arms 43, as shown in the drawings. The conveyer40 is operated by suitable sprocket-wheels 44, operatively connectedtherewith,said sprocket-wheels being adapted to contact with thesprocket-chain 34, as shown in Fig. 2, asit passes betweensprocketwheels 32 and 33, each section of the conveyer being providedwith a separate sprocketwheel in order that the conveyers may operate atthe same time as the threshing-cylinder, as hereinbefore set forth.

The bag attachment is operated by means of a suitable belt 45, mountedon a pulley or wheel secured on one of the shafts 27, the opposite endof the belt being passed over a suitable wheel connected to the elevatormechanism, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

46 designates a lever pivotally connected at its front end to the axleat about its center. This lever is connected to the frame 6, andparticularly to the plate 15, by means of a suitable U -shaped bracket47,having its sides provided with elongated slots 48, provided for thereception of a pin 49, which extends through said slots and through saidlever,said pin being adapted to be tightened by means of a nut mountedon the end thereof, the construction being such as to allow of the leverbeing moved upward and downward within said bracket adjustably, yetallowing of its being secured in any of its adjusted positions in saidbracket.

Inasmuch as the entire mechanism is practically balanced on the axle andhas a pivotal movement thereon,it will be readily seen that in view ofthe connection between the plate 15 and the lever 46 if the rear end ofsaid lever is raised or depressed the threshing mechanism at the frontof the machine will be raised or lowered to a relative degree.- Thismovement allows of the adjustment of the threshing mechanism in orderthat the varyin g height of the grain may be readilyobtained and cut,the adjustment being such as will give the teeth 26 the proper heightfor directing the heads of the grain into the path of movement of thethreshing-bars. This adjustment is intended to be used to a greaterextent than that of the entire frame on the axle, as hereinbeforedescribed, the intention being to make a relative adjustment prior toentering the field where the grain is standing, the true adjustmentbeing obtained after the thresher has entered into the field.

In order that the lever 46 may be held in its adjusted position,lprovide a suitable toothed segment 50, secured to the rear frame,hereinafter described, said segment being located in the path ofmovement of a suitable springactuated pawl 51, secured at the rear endof said lever. As the threshing mechanism is somewhat heavier than themechanism 10- cated on the rear side of the axle, the normal I tendencyof the mechanism is to press downward, and thereby force the lever 46upward. It will be readily seen, therefore, that to change the relativeheight of the teeth by the movement of the lever pressure is necessaryonly in one direction-a downward pressure-thereby raising the front ofthe machine, the opposite movement being accomplished by means of theweight of the threshing mechanism at the front.

The rear portion of the machine is formed substantially as shown in thedrawings and comprises a frame to receive the draft-animals in orderthat they may be placed directly in the rear of the threshing mechanism.This frame consists, essentially, in a laterallyextending bar 57, towhichare affixed, near its opposite ends, guide-wheels 52, which alsosupport the rear of the frame. The frame is completed by the use of twoforwardly-extending bars 53, having their front ends provided with asuitable eye 54, adapted to be placed on the axle of the machine outsideof the drive-wheels and be held in position thereon by suitable means,such as-a pin 55. Within the frame so formed the draft-animals areplaced,said draft-animals being passed therein by releasing the eye 54from the axle-and allowing the side bars to drop until theianh mals arein position, after whichthe side bars are raised into position andsecured therein by means of the pin 55. v The draftanimals are attached,by means of a suitable doubletree and singletree, to a bar 56, havingits ends attached to the laterally-extending portion of the frame 57 ata point away from the center in order that the pull exerted by theseanimals will be better distributed along said portion of the frame. Tothis bar 56 is also connected the segment 50, hereinbefore described,said segment being in this manner held securely against movement.

As hereinbefore stated, the guide-wheels are pivotally connected to thebar 57 by means of suitable bearings 58, said bearings retaining a fixedposition near the ends of the said bars 57, the guide wheels beingpivotally mounted in said bearings. As shown in the drawings, theguide-wheels proper are mounted on suitable standards, to which areconnected suitable forwardly-extending plates 59, said plates beingconnected by means of a suitable bar 60, pivotally connected at itscenter to a suitable foot-lever 61 and a handlever 62, said levers beingpivotally connected to a forwardlypxtending U-shaped portion 63,connected to the bar 57, as shown in the drawings. It will be readilyseen that if either the foot or hand lever be oscillated the plates 59will be moved on their pivots in similar directions, thus enabling themachine to readily makeits turns. A seat 64 is secured to the bar 57, inthe center thereof, and upon this the driver is located, having underhis control both the foot and the hand levers, together with the lever46.

In using the apparatus herein shown and described it is necessary thattwo men be employed, one to drive the draft-animals and to attend to theguiding of the threshing-machine, the other to attend to the bagging ofthe grain asitis threshed, his duties being to place the bags inposition and take them away from the bag-holding device after beingfilled, this being done by dropping them off of the platform 22centrally, so that the draft-animals will not pass onto or contact withthe grain as it is dropped. This attendant stands or is l0- cated on theplatform 22, and his being near the front of the machine gives him abetter position to judge as to the proper height for the teeth to beplaced. In order, therefore, that this attendant may be able to regulatethe height of the teeth as well as the driver, I have provided amechanism which I will now proceed to describe, this mechanism beingintended to lower the rear end of the lever 46, the raising of this endof the lever being accomplished by the weight of the fore part of themachine, as hereinbefore described. This mechanism consists of abellcrank lever 64, pivotally mounted on the axle, said bell-crank leverhaving a pawl 65, adapted to engage with one of the notches in asuitablesegmental portion 66. To one of the arms of the lever 64 is secured thefront end of a rope or other suitable device, the rear end of which isadapted to be passed through a pulley 67, secured on the bar 56, therope then being carried over a pulley 68 on the lever 46 and thenbrought downward and secured positively to said bar 56. By thisconstruction it will be readily seen that when it is desirable that theattendant at the front end of the machine shall raise the teeth thelever 64 is grasped, the pawl being released from contact with thesegment 66 and the lever drawn upwardly, which through the medium of therope connection causes the rear end of the lever 46 to be drawndownward. It will be readily understood, of course, that when theattendant at the front of the machine is regulating the lever the pawl51 will be tied down, so as not to engage With any of the notches on thesegment 50, thus allowing the rear end of the lever to be free to bemoved when the front attendant draws upwardly on the bell-crank lever64. When the rear attendant or the driver attends to raising of thelever 46, the bellcrank lever is allowed to work freely by the tyingdown of the pawl 67, so as not to contact with the segment 66.

In the drawings the teeth 26 are arranged in such manner as to drive thegrain into the path of the threshing-bars, so that none of the grainwill be left without being threshed. It will be readily seen that whengrain is being threshed in which the stalks are of uneven height eventhough longer stalks are encountered the threshing will be accomplishedin the same manner, in such cases the longer stalks being caught by therevolving threshing-bars at a lower point, forcing the heads onto theconcave to a greater distance.

The operation of the machine is very simple and substantially asfollows: The machine is driven in the field in which operations are tobe commenced, and the frame 6 is adjusted to its approximate position bymeans of the lever 11, the frame being secured in position on the axlein the manner heretofore described. After being adjusted the machine isdriven into the field and the proper adjustment of the lever 46 is made,when the operations are commenced and the grain threshed by the movementof the threshingbars across the concave in the mannerheretoforespecified. The threshed grain passes through the concave into theconveyer and is then passed by the conveyer into the receptacle at thelower end of the elevator, from which it is passed into the receptacle41 and then into the bag, the receptacle being arranged in such manneras to allow the grain to pass to one bag at a time in order that timemay be given to allow of the disposal of the filled bag. from theplatform and afterward picked up and carried to the granary in anysuitable manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. In athreshing-machine, drive-wheels, an axle pivotally mounted therein,vertical guides, a frame mounted on said axle and movable in said guidesand held against independent pivotal movement thereon, said frame andaxle having combinedly a pivotal movement, means for adjustably securingsaid frame vertically on said axle, means for impartinga pivotalmovement to said frame,

The bags are then dumped and axle, and threshing mechanism carried bysaid frame and operatively connected with the driving-gear.

2. In a threshing-machine, drive-wheels, an axle pivotally mountedtherein, vertical guides, a frame mounted on said axle and movable insaid guides and held against independent pivotal movement thereon, saidframe and axle having combinedly a pivotal movement, means foradjustably securing said frame on said axle, the point of connectionbetween said frame and axle being located intermediate the top andbottom of the frame, means for imparting a pivotal movement to saidframe and axle, and threshing mechanism carried by said frame andoperatively connected with the driving-gear.

3. In a threshing-machine, drive-wheels, an axle pivotally mountedtherein, vertical guides, a frame mounted on said axle and movable insaid guides and held against independent pivotal movement thereon, saidframe and axle having combinedly a pivotal movement, means foradjustably securing said frame vertically on said axle, means forimparting a pivotal movement to said frame and axle, means for limitingthe movement of said axle, a threshing mechanism carried by said frameand means operatively connecting the same with the driving-gear.

4. In a threshing-machine, drive-wheels, an axle pivotally mountedtherein, vertical guides, a frame mounted on said axle and movable insaid guides and held against independent pivotal movement thereon, saidframe and axle having combinedly a pivotal movement, means foradjustably securing said frame vertically on said axle, means forimparting a pivotal movement to said frame and axle, means for limitingthe movement of said axle, a lever and means for varying the angularrelationship of said lever and frame, athreshing mechanism carried bysaid frame, and means operatively connecting the same with thedriving-gear.

5. In a threshing-machine, drive-wheels, an axle pivotally mountedtherein, vertical guides, a frame mounted on said axle and movable insaid guides and held against in dependent pivotal movement thereon, saidframe and axle having cotnbinedly a pivotal movement, means foradjustably securing said frame vertically on said axle, means forimparting a pivotal movement to said frame and axle, means for limitingthe movement of said axle, a lever extending rearward from the axle andhaving adjustable connections with said frame intermediate the axle andthe rear end of the lever for varying the angular relation of the leverand frame, means for controlling the movement of said lever pivotally onthe axle, a threshing mechanism carried by said frame, and meansoperatively connecting the same with the driving-gear.

6. The combination with a wheeled axle; and athreshing-mechanism-supporting frame adjustably secured thereon; ofdraft-applying and steering mechanism located in rear of said axle andframe, said mechanism being connected solely to said axle and detachabletherefrom.

7. The combination with a wheeled axle; and a threshing-mechanism-supportin g frame adjustably secured thereon; ofdraft-applying and steering mechanism located in rear of said axle andframe, said mechanism being connected solely to the outer ends of saidaxle and detachable therefrom.

8. The combination with a wheel-carrying frame; of an independent framelocated in rear of said carrying-frame and removably connected to theends of the axle thereof to form an inclosure for the draft-animals; andsteering mechanism carried solely by said inclosing frame, substantiallyas described.

9. In combination, a threshingcylinder having its operating portionformed to exert a gradually-increasing pressure; and a concave disposedeccentrically to the advance portions of said portionand having a seriesof countersunk openings formed therein for the passage of grain, theedges of each two contiguous openings lying substantially close togetherto form an exposed surface of corrugated formation, whereby the grainwill be forced from its pod and through said openings substantially freefrom chaff.

10. A concave for threshing-machines having its operative face free fromprojections, and formed with a series of spaced countersunk openings forthe passage of grain, the edges of each two'contiguous openings beingsharp and lying substantially close together to form a narrowdivision-line, whereby the surface will have a corrugated formation.

11. In combination, a yieldable concave having countersunk openings forthe passage of the grain; and a threshing-cylinder rotating thereoverand in juxtaposition thereto, said concave being disposed eccentricallyto the advancing portions of the cylinder-bars, said cylinder forcingthe grain-pods onto the concave, and the grain into and through saidopenings with gradually-increasing pressure.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twoWitnesses.

WILLIAM MALONEY.

Witnesses:

J. A. MARION, HORACE G. SEITZ.

Ion

